Loudeye, Firepad team to deliver video to Palm
- — 15 September, 2000 16:36
Firepad, which makes software for rich content on handheld devices, will be working with digital media infrastructure company Loudeye to encode movie trailers, newscasts and other content for delivery on Palm's handheld devices. The companies hope the technology will eventually allow consumers to access streaming video on Palm devices, using Firepad's software, which can display video at 25 frames per second, Loudeye said in a statement.
Although the concept is on the right track, current technology on handheld devices isn't quite ready for streaming video yet, according to Randy Giusto, an analyst with IDC. "From a technology standpoint, that's where we're heading, it gets more into the entertainment factor of the device," he said. "A large percentage of people with these devices buy them for business, as well as using them for personal use."
"Going forward, you need better screen technology and improved storage technology for it." Giusto said. "Palm doesn't have a compact flash [storage expansion] line yet, and you either have to store this information on the device or on an expansion."
Loudeye said it hopes to eventually deliver encoding services and support for video and animation formats across all wireless formats.
